


Howling Commandos meet Avengers

by csulliven



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America: The First Avenger, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Time Travel, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-10-03 05:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17278283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csulliven/pseuds/csulliven
Summary: Tony is sent back in time with Clint and Nat. They meet their childhood heroes in the heat of WWII and learn that war is not a glamorous as the history books make it out to be.





	1. Proof

When Steve gave him the HYDRA tech it came with a warning to BE CAREFUL. Tony tried he really did, but when dealing with dangerous unknown tech something is bound to go wrong. When the device started spinning he immediately calls Nat and Clint, the only one’s at the compound, down to the lab. He tries to turn it off, but if it starts shooting lasers. He needed someone to destroy it. He couldn’t figure out why the device turned on so suddenly though. Nat and Clint arrive at the same time and immediately are on the defensive.

“Tony, what did you do?” Nat has a gun in her hand pointed at the device.

“I didn’t do anything it started up on its own,” It started to shine a blue light encompassing the entire room. All of a sudden Tony couldn’t see anything except for the light. When it finally died down the first thing he noticed was they weren’t in a lab anymore so much as an office. The second thing he noticed was the gunfire. Clint flipped a desk the only piece of furniture in the room and Nat grabbed his arm pulling him behind it. A door opens and there is gunfire where he was just standing. 

“Do either of you have a white flag?” Tony looks at the mystery twins only to be met with glares. “What I surrender, and I kinda don’t want to die,” The gunfire stops and Tony looks up into the barrel of a gun. 

“Who the fuck are you?” None other than Captain America himself is asking. Nat is the one to respond sending a look at Tony not to say a word. Tony didn’t think he could say anything he just heard Captain America cuss.

“Steve, we’re your friends don’t you recognize us?” Steve looks confused, but his hand never waivers.

“Steve,” The person holding a gun to the back of Clint’s head speaks up, “What are your orders?”

“Tie them up, we’ll take them back to base and see what they know,” This spurred movement from the guy behind them, while Steve never moved. They were tied up and disarmed. When they got to Clint the guy found his phone. 

“What the fuck is this?” The guy who was tying them up had a bowler hat and a mustache like none other. He was blond and was wearing what looked like gear, with large boots.

“That is….” Tony trailed off. He wasn’t sure if they should say they were from the future or not. Clint made the decision when he picked up where Tony trailed off.

“Proof we’re from the future,” Nat’s glare at Clint was so scary Tony was surprised he wasn’t a burnt piece of ash on the ground.

“Ha, you think your funny,” The man, Dugan if Tony remembers correctly, laughs and looks at the device. He accidentally presses the home button and when it turns on drops it. “Bomb, get down,” Steve grabs his shield and puts it over the phone. After thirty seconds of no explosion Dugan walks over to Clint. The punch is unexpected. They weren’t expecting it mostly because this is a Howling Commando. They don’t just go around punching prisoners. Especially with Steve as their leader. He would never stand for this. When Tony looks over at Steve the unemotional attachment surprises him. “What cat got your tongue?” Steve seems to remember something.

“Check for suicide capsules, but watch your fingers we don’t need another incident.” Each of their mouths are forced open and a light shown in them. When nothing is found they look more and more confused. Before they can ask anything Bucky Barnes himself walks through the doors.

“Dernier has this place rigged up, so we need to get our asses out of dodge. He seems to notice the three prisoners at that point and sends Steve a silent look that Tony can’t interpret. Steve lifts his phone off the bomb and beckons Bucky over.

“Do you recognize this?” Bucky shakes his head no. Steve seems satisfied and pockets it. “Put them on the truck. We got ourselves some informants.”

They are loaded on the truck and left there. They sit there for four hours always with a gun on them. The person changes, each Howling Commando taking a turn, except Steve. The truck stops at hour five and there is scuffling outside. When they are finally dragged out they are tied to a tree. Tony noticed Natasha was oddly silent the entire time. It wasn’t until the men were eating that she said anything. 

“So, I’m sure you want to ask us questions. I’m sure you’re curious about the device, and why we claimed we’re from the future.” They seemed to consider the question. Tony and Clint knew to stay quiet. They’ve seen Nat at work before and she is good at what she does.

“We have people who take care of interrogations,” Bucky was quick to shut down any questions that might be asked, but Natasha wasn’t done yet.

“James Buchanan Barnes, goes by Bucky. Was captured by HYDRA and experimented on,” Bucky’s face goes pale, but Natasha continues, “Steven Grant Rogers, goes by Steve. Applied and was rejected from the army five times, until Doctor Erskine recruited you for the super soldier program known as project rebirth. Made you go from 5’4 to 6’1. You went AWOL to Azzano to save the life of James over there. He was there for you when your mom died, and you have been best friends since childhood,” The rest of their team was looking between Steve and Bucky. The two were looking at each other and then back at the three of them. There was silence for several minutes. Finally Steve speaks.

“Tape their mouths shut. They’re trying to get in our heads,” Nat’s eyes widen and Tony wasn’t sure what to think. This Steve seemed so different so, cold? No that’s not what it is. Hardened? Yes, that’s what it is. Modern Steve has a stick up his ass, but he’s soft. He’s nice and friendly, and he’s more “gullible” than this Steve. Nat hides her surprise and starts talking again.

“Steven Grant Rogers. We are from the future. What you thought was a bomb is actually a phone. You told me everything that I just told you. We are friends in the future. We all are,” She gestures with her head towards Tony and Clint. Steve holds his hand up to pause the guys from taping their mouths. 

“What year is it for you?” This was the make it or break it moment. 

“2014,” Steve laughs. It’s a cold, dark laugh that obviously doesn’t believe them.

“You expect me to believe that 70 something years in the future I’m still alive am friends with you. You realize that would make me 90 something, right? Ha, tape their mouths shut. Bucky can I talk to you we need to know how they got that information,” They start to walk off when Tony tries one more desperate attempt to get them to believe.

“My name is Anthony Stark, Howard Stark’s son. My godmother is Peggy Carter-Sousa married to Daniel Sousa.” His mouth is tape, but Steve pauses. He turns and confusion flashes across his face. They make eye contact and he can see the moment that Steve knows what that means. Bucky also catches on. They quickly turn away, but not before Steve assigns Dernier to watch. 

Tony doesn’t know what to think. He’s tied to a tree in a time where the only people he knows don’t know him, and he told Steve he wasn’t going to make it through the war. Tony fell asleep, but it was only for a couple of hours and the same guy was on shift. He got bored very quickly and started messing with the ropes to see if he could loosen them. He paused in his quest when the first person woke up. He couldn’t tell who it was because it was so dark, but he heard a muted cry and shuffling. As the hours passed it happened a couple of times. After the fourth time it happened it gave him pause. This time the person had the definitive figure of Steve. Tony didn’t know Steve had nightmares. He thought, well he never really thought about it. After Steve falls back asleep Tony thinks he sees something out of the corner of his eye. He brushes it off as an animal, but the person on watch saw it as well, and did not think that.

“Show time girls. We have company.” The was in which all of the men were awake immediately and had weapons throws Tony for a loop. He sees a familiar flash of a shield as gunfire goes off. It’s very controlled gunfire, and as the shield gets closer the gunfire stops. Tony can’t help the sigh of relief when he sees their Steve. Natasha gets out of the ropes and stands up to help when Rogers talks.

“Nat stand down. This won’t be solved by violence,” All gunfire stops at this point and it’s Bucky’s turn to ask.

“Who the ever living fuck are you?”


	2. Chapter 2

Captain America stood there in all his glory shield in one hand and the other hand up. The Howling Commandos lowered their weapons more in confusion than in trust. Nat moved to stand next to Steve and Tony realized he was able to stand up now as well. He pulled the tape off of his mouth before speaking.  
“Cap good to see you. I’ll have you know I called Clint and Nat down before the device exploded, and it did not explode because of me.” Steve wasn’t paying attention to him though. His eyes were glued to Bucky whose gun was still pointed at him.   
“I will only ask one more time before I shoot,” Steve was shaken out of his silence by that.  
“I’m Steve Rogers from the future. I’ve only come to get my teammates out of this mess,” Tony could tell Bucky still didn’t believe the future plot.  
“Prove it,” Steve looked pained before speaking.  
“Till the end of the line,” It didn’t mean crap to Tony, but both Steve and Bucky let their weapons drop. Bucky seemed to study future Rogers more closely. After several seconds he seemed to believe him.  
“Okay well your here now how are you getting back?” Bucky's ease seemed to seep into the rest of the group as everyone seemed a little less on edge.   
“Bruce, another teammate, is at the other end of the time machine. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to find you so I told him to give me ten days. Not the best option, but HYDRA bases are not easy to infiltrate alone,” The Commandos smirked at this, apparently some inside joke behind that.  
“We were headed to a base before we captured your friends. Want to help us kill some Nazi bastards?” Tony liked the idea. He didn't have his armor, but he could easily make something and it would be fun to see what Rogers was like before.  
“No. My team are not soldiers. Their skill set is better elsewhere,” Tony was offended. That was the only way to put it. He wasn't a soldier, but he could handle one base. He decided to voice his thoughts.  
“I think if they want our help on one base we should help them,” Tony could tell Rogers strongly disagreed.   
“Tony this isn't like our missions. We need to lay low and be ready for when Bruce opens the way back,” Rogers was stern, but Tony felt they could help. The technology is not as advanced, and the more people the better chances they have.   
“We can help,” At this point Nat and Clint were agreeing with Tony so Steve had no choice but to relent. He just nodded at Tony signalling that he was going.   
“I don't remember this base, so will you catch me up?” Rogers, Steve, and Bucky head to none side of the camp to talk leaving everyone else in awkward silence. Dugan finally broke the silence by grabbing something out of his bag.  
“I thought you said we finished the alcohol?” Gabe asked grabbing the bottle from him and taking a swig.  
“Well, that was to keep those two away. Those two could drink a bar out.” Everyone laughed.  
“Well they did have to deal with the worst of the prohibition alcohol. When Bucky ended up in hospital after that one drink. The way Steve talked about it you would expect him to swear off drinking not drink everything in sight,” the laughter continued except for Tony.   
“What do you mean prohibition alcohol?” They all give him dumbfounded looks.  
“Almost all the alcohol was poisoned because it was illegal. They lived on the poor end of Brooklyn which means alcohol was plentiful, but most of it would kill you. When it finally ended in ‘33 it was a breath of release for everyone,” Morita spoke up this time explaining it.   
“But that would mean they were only 15,” He only received an “And?” look. He dropped it and accepted the bottle that was handed to him. While everyone was drinking and sharing stories Tony listened. Eventually everyone fell asleep leaving one person on watch. Tony didn't realize it, but he drifted off as well.   
The next morning everyone was up before the sun broke the horizon. They all made their way into the trucks and to the next base. On the way both Steves and Bucky laid out the plan. Tony was with Clint and Natasha. They would be looking for information with Morita. Their Steve would be going in a side entrance with Tony’s group, but splitting off to flank the head on assault provided by the rest of the Commandos. Tony did not understand this battle tactic. He has heard Steve’s ideas and they were always a lot more logical using the full set of each abilities. If Tony was in charge he would have Clint as a sniper and Natasha helping Steve flank, while one of the commandos helped Tony find information. No one else seemed to disagree with the plan so he kept silent.   
Ten miles from the base the trucks stop. Tony looked around and no one else seemed surprise, excluding Clint and Nat.  
“What happened is everything okay?” Tony looked around as everyone got out.  
“We’re leaving the trucks and walking the rest of the way. You didn’t think we’d drive trucks into a surprise attack did you? You’d have to be stupid to give away your position like that,” Dugan looked at Tony as if he couldn’t decided if he was stupid or the ignorant. “Don’t worry we’ll get some rides once we get there,” Tony wasn’t happy about walking ten miles, but he kept his mouth shut.   
They make it two miles, before Tony starts complaining. When Rogers looks at him and tells him this is why he didn’t want them on this assignment Tony quit complaining. They stop for lunch at the five mile mark. Rogers reveals he has lunch for the four of them, while the commandos all unpack something from the packs they’re caring. Lunch is nothing like dinner the night before. There are no stories or laughter, just silence. Everyone seems on watch and to jump at every sound. They finished quickly forcing Tony to hurry up, and were back to hiking thirty minutes later. The make it to the base a little after four. Tony and Clint, while in shape, were not use to this kind of hiking and held everyone up a couple of times. They arrive at the base and everyone splits up to get in positions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update, I thought I updated at the beginning of the year and saw that I didn't.


	3. Chapter 3

Morita and Gabe were sent ahead to scout leaving everyone behind to wait. Tony took what was on him and tried to figure out what he could make that would be useful. He didn’t have much on him, but he was able to scrounge up a few parts from the people around him. He created a stun gun and that was as far as he got before the scouts returned. Tony stood up to listen to what they found, but they merely walked away with both Steve’s. Tony started to follow, but Bucky slid up next to him.  
“What did you make?” Tony looked down at the stun gun still in his hands.  
“It’s a stun gun. I am on information duty since I don’t have all of my,” He paused to think about what to call the Iron Man suit, “equipment. I still need some sort of protection so here it is,”  
“What is a stun gun?” Tony turned and shot it at a tree. It was roughly based off of the Shield kind, but there wasn’t the right tools so his is a little rougher. Tony turned towards Bucky ginning, but Bucky was slowly backing away from Tony on guard.  
“You know how to make HYDRA weapons?” His words drew the attention of everyone else. The Howling Commandos were instantly on guard putting his team mates on guard as well.  
“Yes, but.” Before he could finish both Steves, Gabe, and Morita joined the group. Rogers ran forward putting himself between Bucky and Tony.  
“What’s going on?” Rogers Captain America voice came out and Tony immediately put up his hands.  
“He is Hydra he just showed me the weapon he made. He even admitted he knew how to make Hydra weapons,” Bucky didn’t have his gun raised, but Tony knew that it was only because Rogers stood between them. Steve looks at Tony with the face that Tony calls Captain America is disappointed with how you handled yourself. He held out his hand and Tony handed him the gun. One glance at it and Tony knew Rodgers knew what it was.  
“Bucky calm down it’s not a hydra weapon. It’s barely a weapon at all. It knocks people out using electricity. That was the blue stuff you saw.” Rogers handed the gun back to Tony as Steve watched the interaction. He seemed to be studying his future self and how he handled the situation.  
“He said he knew how to make Hydra weapons,” Steve gave Tony another Captain America is not happy with your decisions look.  
“Tony puts his foot in his mouth,” He meant that there are schematics in the future so he does know how to make them, but this is not that kind of weapon.”   
Everyone seemed to calm down after Rogers explanation. Tony noticed Steve frown and he didn’t recognize that frown. As Steve watched Rogers diffuse the situation the frown only seemed to deapen.  
“Let’s go finish those plans we have a base to raid tomorrow,” Rogers seemed to do a double take before nodding. They walked off back to wherever they were talking as everyone sat back down.  
As the night drug on the group only seemed to become more tense. Everyone was on edge when it was time to sleep and there were two guards at all times. When it came time for everyone to wake there was already bustle in the camp. Everyone split into separate groups as the time to raid the base came closer. Tony was teamed with Natasha and Morita. Clint would be following them watching their backs. Rogers was going in ahead of Tony’s group, but quickly heading in a different direction. Steve and the rest of the commandos lead a head on assault.  
The plan was going great. Until it wasn't. Something happened with the head on assault and while Nat and him were collecting data gun fire came close. Steve said that if they heard people headed their direction grab what they could and get out. As Tony was sifting through Hydra papers he noticed a lot of the information wasn't in English. Some had schematics on them though. Tony knew they weren't going to be able to carry everything they needed and fend off Hydra soldiers so he went off plan. He asked Nat if she could read the papers and when she said she could she had her continue to sort through papers and he went out to meet with Clint. Instead of fleeing they held down the fort finding cover and shooting Hydra agent. Tony with his stun gun and Clint with his arrows.  
When the Commandos and Steves made it around the corner Natasha was almost finished sorting and Tony was alternating between helping her and Clint. They finished securing the base and papers before blowing it up. Tony tried to say that they could take prisoners of those who were knocked out, but was ignored. When he looked at Rogers all he received was shake of the head. The lack of emotion on Steve's face when the base blew up surprised Tony. Rogers past self was so complacent about killing all of those people that he couldn't compare that to the Steve he knows. It made him angry to think that he had such disregard for human life.  
Tony was getting prepared to say something when Steve beat him to it.  
“What you did today was stupid and reckless. You had orders and you should have listened to them. You not only put your life on the line, but the life of your teammates as well. That is why you have orders,” Steve didn't look like he was about to stop, but Rogers stepped in. Tony was about to tell Steve what he thought, but the look Rogers gave him made him keep his mouth shut.  
“My team doesn't operate the same way as your used to,” Steve was being lead ahead of the group for a little privacy.  
“How can you stand such disrespect from your charge?” Someone drapes their arm around his shoulders drawing his attention away from the conversation in front of him. When he looks to see who it is he noticed Dernier. Something he said that he doesn't understand. Gabe approaches and helpfully translates.  
“He's saying all CO's are assholes,” There are laughs, but Tony doesn't get the joke.  
“At least Steve's not a very good one. Any other CO and you would be court marshalled for what you pulled today,” Falsworth looks at Tony with interest.  
“My question is why you don't have two Steve's chewing your ass out?” Dugan joins the conversation and everyone is looking at Tony. Natasha seems to understand what they are talking about better so she steps in saving Tony.  
“Our team is run a lot different than yours. Steve creates the plans, but they often change in the field and usually there is more communication in the field. None of us are use to Steve being head authority without argument,” While the Commandos seemed confused they also seemed satisfied with her answer.   
Hearing the way they talk and Natasha explain it did help clarify a few things. One of the things it clarified was the way Steve acted when they first met. Tony thought he was just an stuck up Asshole, but Steve was told that the Avengers were his team and it sounds like he had more authority over his last team than Tony thought. Tony knew they were going to go home soon, but he didn't realize how different Steve and Rogers were. Steve seems a lot more hot headed and quick to react than Rogers. Rogers is also a lot quieter than Steve. Seeing the contrast between them makes their differences all the more noticeable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I was debating on how dark to go because up until now the story was really light and fluffy. I think I fell closer on the light side of things, but I wanted Tony to really see how different past Steve and his Steve are. I think I accomplished that and next chapter there'll be at least some fluff.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone agreed that after the last base they needed to rest. They were still in enemy territory so it wasn’t great, but they decided that they were far enough away from the base to rest for a night before heading back to the Hydra base they appeared in. They were all sitting around a fire and again both Steve’s were absent as well as Barnes. It was weird not seeing Steve interacting with his team. It kind of reminded him of the first few months everyone was living at the tower. Steve would always decline any group activities until they became mandatory for team bonding. He listened to the sounds of the chatter until someone directed a question at him.

“So what are Steve’s kids like? I’m positive kids that have Steve and Peggy as their parents are a handful to deal with?” Dugan laughs through the question that he doesn’t realize how much weight it carries. Their little group of three doesn’t know how to respond. The idea of Steve being married let alone settled down enough to have kids was a weird though. It really threw in Tony’s face everything Steve lost when he went into the ice. The Commandos are still waiting for an answer that Tony doesn’t have. He looks at Nat and Clint for help, but they seem just as stumped. Finally Tony is able to give a short response.

“He doesn’t have kids,” They seemed surprised at that, but seem to shrug it off.

“He and Pegs still traveling the world knocking out bad guys?” Dugan continues to look at Tony starting to notice how uncomfortable the questions make him.

“I’m surprised Pegs isn’t with you. I would have thought she’d have killed to be on a mission like this,” Morita chips in and when he’s finished all eyes turn back to them. They all pick up on the hesitancy to answer and a look of horror passes over their faces one by one.

“Peggy doesn’t survive the war?” Gabe asks the question, but it’s more of a statement than a need for confirmation.

“No, She does. She does survive,” They all breath in relief, but confusion replaces the horror.

“That doesn’t make any sense. They are way to in love to do anything else so what happens,” Dugan continues the interrogation. Nat shakes her head so Dugan asks a different question. One that hasn’t gotten a straight answer until this second.

“What year was it when you got sent back?” 

“2014,” Clint answers. All eyes widen and everyone takes a long swig from the bottle being passed around before anyone speaks again.

“Steve doesn’t make it through the war, but he doesn’t die, he’s found in 2012 and ended up becoming the leader of a team named the Avengers,” There’s a couple of slow whistles and the bottle is passed around again.

“Peggy and Howard will be devastated. Their trio won’t be the same without one of them. Not even talking about Barnes,” Morita mumbles it, and Tony’s head whiplashes with how hard he turns to look at Morita.

“What do you mean their trio?” Tony looks around for answers. He knew Steve and Howard knew each other. He even knew that Howard was so proud of his creation of Steve Rogers that he spent decades looking for him, but the idea of them being like the three musketeers getting into trouble and solving problems he couldn’t imagine.

“Their trio. Ever since they helped Steve rescue the 107th they have been a merry band of trouble makers. Don’t let the fact he’s a C.O. fool you he can get into just as much trouble as us with his little trio. Starks rich, and Steve’s such an asset that they get away with a lot more than they should. They even have gone on side missions without telling anyone. The only thing we have been able to get out of them is little inside jokes that make no sense like It’s in the Bricks, or idiot jumping,” 

Tony doesn’t know what to do with this information. The fact that Steve, Howard, and Aunt Peggy were team of troublemakers was hard to see. Sure Steve was sarcastic and would tear down an entire section of the government if it was corrupt, but to go on side missions that only meant trouble with Peggy and Howard of all people. Tony was quiet for awhile and the conversation drifted to other subjects. 

Tony didn’t pay attention and before he knew it everyone was laying down. He still was not happy with his father and he would probably never be, but the fact that Steve didn’t talk about what sounded like a close friend for the sake of Tony made his heart ache. Tony didn’t really understand what Steve lost until now. He lost everything including a future. Both Steve’s had made it back to camp and Tony watched Rogers. Saw tension in his shoulders and a sadness in his eyes that made him look absolutely shattered. They would have to leave tomorrow their time running out, and Rogers didn’t even have a chance to see Peggy or Howard. When they get back Tony is going to swallow his dislike and ask Rogers about Howard. If only to find out what type of man Steve knew Howard as.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short, but I wanted some Steggy feels and I wanted Tony to realize how painful it is for Steve not to talk about one of his close friends for Tony's sake.


	5. Chapter 5

They started hiking back towards the spot where Rogers said Bruce is going to get them back. Tony was glad to be heading back. The weather was looking worse by the hour and there was a chill in the air that was only getting worse. His feet hurt from the constant walking and the feeling of having to constantly be on watch was straining.Tony was happy to be headed home. They parted with the Howling Commandos because they needed to be back at base soon, and didn’t want a huge group to draw attention. Most of the walk was in silence. Nat and Clint would occasionally whisper back and forth, but everyone seemed to be pretty focused on getting to their destination. It was in a weird change after spending the last couple of days with the Commandos who were always talking or making some kind of noise. 

Tony glanced around his teammates. Nat and Clint were obviously on guard taking up the rear. Steve was leading the way, the only one in the group that knows where he is and where he is going. Tony glances at his face and notices how tense he looks. Tony hasn’t seen him this tense since the Chitauri invasion. Tony speeds up walking next to Steve rather than behind him.

“What’s it like being back?” Steve glances sideways and Tony doesn’t think he’ll answer.

“It’s nice, but painful. The pain dulls over time, but being back seeing all of them again,” Tony nods when Steve stops. They walk for a couple of minutes before Tony asks another question.

“Something the Commandos said got me wondering. What did you Howard and Aunt Peggy get up too?” 

“It’s classified,” Steve answer was automatic like he repeated it a thousand times, “Steve seemed to realize what Tony asked though and stared at Tony. “You really want me to talk about him?” Tony knows that Steve was friends with his dad. They both had expectations of each other because of his dad, but if Steve and Howard were half as close as the Commandos seemed to think Tony was curious what kind of person his dad was before.

“Yah. I always loved hearing about Peggy’s adventures, but a lot of them were still classified while she was still around,” 

“Technically they are still classified,” Tony stares at Steve and watches as his lips turn upwards.

“Really? We are alone in in the middle of the backwoods of Europe from 2013,” He’s met with silence.

“It started when I needed a pilot to fly me over military lines to the mission that would rescue the Howling Commandos,” Tony had heard this story a million times, but only through second hand sources and books. Aunt Peggy always had a glint in her eye when he asked he, but never really answered. “It was after one of my shows I was on the front lines finally serving my country and I was having tomatoes thrown at me,” While I was backstage I noticed a lot of injured coming in. When I asked Peggy what was happening she said that the men were what was left of the 107th. Bucky was in the 107th, and I wanted to see,” Steve trailed off not finishing the sentence. “Philips said he was probably dead, but that he might be captured. When I asked what they were going to do he answered ‘Win the War’ that it would cost more men than they would save. So I decided to go myself,” Tony had to pause at that. 

“It wasn’t an official mission?” Steve looks at him curiously, “You went behind enemy lines to save one man?” Steve smiled sheepishly at that.

“What do you mean it wasn’t official?” Steve looked up curiously.

“According to the history books it was an official mission. It was your first mission,” Steve laughed at that. 

“It was a mission, but it was definitely not official. I was prepared to walk, and that’s were Peggy and Howard came in. Peggy wasn’t prepared to let me go alone, and Howard was the only civilian pilot crazy enough to fly over enemy territory. The plane was to land and Peggy and I would go together, but when we were being fired at I had to go in alone. When I got back General Phillips was mad. I get my ass chewed out for hours, but he couldn’t ignore the success. That’s how the Howling Commandos were started.” Steve had a smile on his face as he seemed to recall the memory. “The reason what I did with Peggy and Howard was classified was because any mission I went on with them was illegal and most certainly unofficial,” Tony couldn’t help but laugh. Steve Rogers who is a role model for children on the weekday and a criminal on the weekends. It was funny to think about. Tony fell behind and noticed Nat and Clint were quietly laughing as well. 

They made it to the portal just as it was opening. They stepped through and were met with Bruce and Thor. The portal closed as Steve made it through. Tony noticed Steve slipped off as soon as he could. He thought about going after him, but Tony knew Steve needed some space. Steve was distant for week before Tony decided he had enough. He knocked on Steve’s door, and when he answered walked into his room.

“Get dressed we’re going out,” Tony looked at the sweats and T-shirt Steve had on and made his way to the man’s closet.

“I’m really not in the mood to go out today,” Steve headed in the same direction as Tony, but not nearly as fast or with as much enthusiasm. 

“That’s exactly why we need to go out. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you hiding out. You need to get out. It’s healthy,” Tony stuck his head out of the closet to look at Steve, “At least that’s what you always say to me when I stay in the lab,” He started looking through the clothes again, but was still able to hear the string of curses Steve muttered under his breath. Tony found a pair of jeans and a collared shirt he thought were appropriate before throwing them at Steve.

“Put those on,” Steve headed to his bathroom.

“Can I at least ask where we’re going?” Tony hadn’t really thought that far ahead. He wasn’t entirely sure.

“Guess?” Tony pulled out his phone preparing to text Pepper.

“Knowing you it could be anything, but probably some fancy restaurant,” Tony texted Pepper asking her for the best mom and pop restaurants near the tower. She responded before Steve left the restroom.

“Nope, though it is a restaurant,” Steve followed Tony down to the garage. He picked one of his convertibles getting in the driver's seat as Steve looked between him and the car hesitantly before getting in. 

The restaurant Pepper sent him is a small and the staff were friendly. It had a jukebox along one of the walls and posters of The Beatles, Elvis, and Johnny Cash. It wasn’t a place Tony would usually frequent, but as he looked over to Steve he seemed to be enjoying himself looking at all of the posters. They sat down for dinner and while there were some awkward silences here and there it was overall pleasant. It seemed to get Steve’s mind off of the time travel trip they took which was good. They drove back to the tower and when they went to the theater room were joined by the rest of the team. Steve hadn’t watch Lord of the Rings yet, and so they spent the rest of the night trying to make it through as many movies as they could. Tony fell asleep through the third one, but for once didn’t have nightmares.   
……

Tony watched as Steve and Natasha moved to DC and Thor went back to Asgard. Clint went off on a mission for Shield and would be radio silence for months at a time. Bruce stayed, but even he seemed to drift off. When Shield fell Tony could only watch from a distance and by the time he made it to DC Steve was out of the hospital and going to find Bucky. They all came together one more time, but cracks had started to appear. Tony never forgot what he learned when he went back in time, but it wasn’t until much later when he was sitting alone reflecting on how the Avengers had failed so badly that he remembered how close Steve and Howard was. How Steve had tears in his eyes after watching the video. Tony pulled out the phone and stared at it. Knowing he should make the call and not making it. The door to his lab opens and he sees Peter. Steve will be just fine. He found his family, just like Tony has found his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit the ending caught me by surprise. I had an ending in mind and this swept up and caught me by surprise, so I'm curious what you think about it.

**Author's Note:**

> I did my best to make it as historically accurate as possible. You will see more Commandos in future chapters.


End file.
